


Echoes

by aeriamamaduck



Series: Cyrodiil's Child [19]
Category: Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Genre: sigil stone speculation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-28
Updated: 2015-06-28
Packaged: 2018-04-06 13:28:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4223457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aeriamamaduck/pseuds/aeriamamaduck
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Minerva and Martin make a curious discovery about the Sigil Stones she's retrieved thus far.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Echoes

Tomasina immediately went for the trough, but not before Minerva dipped her hands into the water to wash her face clean of the soot that coated it.

This Gate had been far too close to the Temple, and Minerva had been riding up towards Cloud Ruler when she caught sight of the too-familiar flaming gate at the base of the hill.

Destroying it was easy enough, but she hated having them close to Martin. Not when he was opening his mind to the dangers of the Xarxes. As potent as his protections were, Minerva still feared for him.

She exited the stables to see him quickly approaching her, brow furrowed with worry. “I saw the gate from the battlements. Are you alright?”

His hands immediately reached for hers, squeezing his warmth into them as she nodded. “I’m alright. Let’s just head inside. I’ve something to show you.”

Once inside they took chairs set close to the fireplace, Minerva sighing in comfort and gratitude, she reached into her satchel to retrieve what she meant to show Martin.

The sigil stone was small enough to fit in her hand, but not so when it was on its pedestal in the sigil tower. They were heavy with the daedric energy that connected them to the Oblivion world, the chain to the anchor that kept the Gate attached to Tamriel, but on their own they seemed…harmless.

Martin stared at it in surprise, frown deepening as the stone let out that high-pitched whistling noise that never seemed to dissipate. “You were able to keep the stone?”

“Always, but since I’m usually close to a city I drop these stones off to the mage guild for their research. Today, however, I was not in the mood to ride back to Bruma.” Pressing the stone to his hand she leaned in to brush her lips against his cheek. “And I thought it’d interest you.”

He chuckled softly and gave her an affectionate look. “It does. In truth, I am more than curious about the power that sustains such an object.” He looked down at the stone, holding it in both hands and examining it.

The persistent noise emanating from the stone caused a mild throbbing in Minerva’s ears, but she distracted herself by watching the shift in expressions on Martin’s face. His eyes brightened considerably as he examined the stone, making him look younger and free of any cares.

Light surrounded his hands for a second and the room around them was briefly flooded with light and color similar to the Wastes. Minerva flinched with a soft gasp and straightened in her seat just before the room went back to normal, her hands raised and…glowing.

Martin eyed her hands with surprise. “A healing spell?”

She dispelled it, shocked that that had been her very first reaction. “…It’s the one I use most often. What in Kynareth’s name was that?”

He held the stone in front of her. “The Gates are essentially a distortion in time and space. They  _should_ not exist, but when they do they cling to the fabric of this world, imprinting upon both physical and non-physical aspects.

“The stone may have assimilated memories of the place it was close to, if not the entirety of Tamriel, in order to form a truly stable portal, mimicking the existence of any every day object.”

Minerva gazed at the stone, suddenly curious. “So what we just saw. That was a memory?”

“I released a small amount of magicka into it to observe a reaction, test its existence in our world. What we saw  _did_  look like the Temple, but…did you see the people?”

She shook her head, frowning at having missed that detail in her shock. “There were  _people?_ ”

He did not reply, but once again summoned magic in the palms that held the sigil stone. This time he maintained it, letting the distorted colors and shapes settle around them as Minerva inhaled sharply in surprise.

There  _were_ people. A dozen or so, all dressed in Blade armor and lined up where the tables stood. “The Blades, but…” She got to her feet slowly, noting that they did not react. “I don’t recognize any of them.”

Something moved close to her and she nearly jumped upon seeing that it was the near-opaque figure of a woman dressed in golden armor.

She was tall with a formidable face, her skin a dark olive tone and her cropped hair the color of mahogany. Her face was unlined so she was likely young, but obviously older than Minerva.

Several swords unsheathed at once, and the Blades raised them aloft with a unified cry of,  _“Hail, Dragon-Born! Hail Morihatha Septim!”_

Minerva watched Empress Morihatha stride down the hall towards the doors, never faltering in her steps. Gradually the scene began to fade and the room returned to normal. She turned to find Martin on his feet, still looking at the sigil stone with rapt fascination. “By the Dvines, that was…”

“I know,” Minerva breathed, eyes drawn to the swords that hung from the rafters. More than a century had passed since Empress Morihatha walked this hall, flanked by Blades whose swords remained here in tribute. “I wonder if any of the guilds figured that trick out. I never thought to follow through…”

She exchanged an excited gaze with Martin, wondering what more they could discover.


End file.
